This manual encourages countries to conduct standardized oral health surveys that are comparable internationally. The manual provides guidelines for assessing the current oral health status of a population and the future needs for oral health intervention. Oral diseases are among the most prevalent non-communicable diseases and major components of the global burden of disease. The key risk factors are common to chronic and oral diseases. Guidelines are presented for risk factors assessment. The WHO approach can facilitate the incorporation of oral health into national health surveillance systems. Surveillance of oral health over time and monitoring of programmes may provide decision-makers public health planners and health administrators with valuable information about the relevance and cost-effectiveness of public health intervention programmes.